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Monday, May 23, 2011

Hi friends!Just wanted to check in and say hello; not too much new going on around here. I found this cool mobile here (the large version...and it says it's paper but the patterns look to be fabric glued onto paper?) and Chris installed it in P's playroom. The whole thing swings in circles and it creates a cool effect of fluttering butterflies around the sky.

Paige is busy reading about important topics.

And she's been "brushing" up on her hygiene basics.

Otherwise, we've been busy with her Occupational Therapy and Developmental Therapy appointments. It's been raining almost every day which is causing us great cabin fever! I'm looking forward to June and its "stable" weather. All is well here and we are so grateful.

Monday, May 16, 2011

Here's a snippet from a fun day. She want on to laugh in her crib for about a half hour during her "nap." I could hear her saying "nutty nutty" to herself through chuckles. It's a different day as I write this and she's chattering away in her crib...not napping as she should be. She sang the bye-bye song to her belongings (bye-bye curtain, it's time to go home now, etc.) and is making declarations about things. I can't make out what she's saying; but she definitely sounds sure about it.

Saturday, May 14, 2011

Hi friends!A little while ago we were cleaning up the yard. I'm no gardener, but decided to get a few little cheapy buckets at Target to fill with soil and plant generic flowers that attract butterflies and hummingbirds. I punched a hole or few in the bottom of each bucket with an awl and away we went. The project was really for Paige...an activity that we could do together and she can watch her plants grow; and so far she enjoys checking out their progress each day.

Also, check out the cool gardening stuff my friend Sue (and Paige's Godmother) got/made for her as her birthday gift: pink rubber boots, pink gardening gloves in her size (!!!), pink metal gardening tools including watering can, a board book about "planting a rainbow", and she made a really cute canvas tool belt to hold all the tools. Isn't it neat?

We decided to give Paige her own "bit of earth" (sorry, I had to steal the lingo from The Secret Garden) so she could freely dig, and plant things without worrying about the layout or how it looked. It's her patch to do what she wants and muck around in. She's still not very interested in digging around or getting dirty in it yet but I'm sure it will change as she gets older. We put the area next to her playhouse to give it that cottage garden feel. hee hee! I'm thinking I'll let her pick out her own flower seeds to throw in there and see what happens. In another year or two we'll try carrots or something like that.

Paige enjoys her tools and likes watering her own plants. She seems to burst with pride when she gets to do things on her own, so lately I've been really trying to allow her to do as much as possible by herself. I intervene to show her how if she gets stuck; but I'm trying to let her figure things out on her own. She's even now obsessed with the book "All By Myself" by Mercer Mayer. She's definitely hitting the "I do it" time, so I want to be as encouraging as possible. My baby is growing!

Sunday, May 8, 2011

Hi there friends!I thought I'd share some photos from my Mother's Day with you. Chris asked what I wanted to do; so I told him I'd like to go to the Old North Bridge in nearby Concord, MA to walk around and have a picnic. It's located in the Minuteman National Park. It is also the locale of the "Shot Heard 'Round the World and the beginning of the Revolutionary War. It's a beautiful area filled with walking paths, lush gardens and beautiful scenery at every turn. It's one of my very favorite places to go. We lucked out and had lovely weather...yay! Paige got to run anywhere she wanted and we had a blast taking pictures and just walking all around. Thanks to Chris and Paige for making it so special. I had fun.I love you both so much! Happy Mother's Day to my own Mama. She puts up with my constant phone calls where I'm worried about some such thing or another. She always makes me see the light and knows how to make me feel so much better. Thanks again Mom! You are the best!!

Saturday, May 7, 2011

I know it's pretty late, but I had to put some favorite Easter photos up on the ol' blog for the sake of posterity. I didn't think Paige would understand the egg hunt. But the Easter bunny came in the morning and Paige figured it right out. We went to Paige's cousin's house later in the day and there was another egg hunt there! She became mildly obsessed with hunting for eggs; so we'll have to write to the Easter Bunny in hopes he will hide even more on Easter morning next year.

Here is a video of Paige's Easter Bunny egg hunt. We tell her to look for eggs and says a balloon is an egg. She then finds an egg that was a Playmobil toy, but I didn't want to correct her since I DID say to find the eggs. The rest was smooth sailing. I would say my favorite thing about this video is the victory gallop she does after each find, along with the scream of "egg!!" I love this girl.

Thursday, May 5, 2011

It's waaaaaay overdue, but figured I'd post some pictures from Paige's birthday party. We had it on a Saturday the week before she turned 2 and invited her little buddies from her playgroups. (about 3 or 4 other toddlers were in attendance). Her close family also came to celebrate; we had lots of brunch food and chose to do it between 10am-noon. That way, the kiddos could go home for their naps and not be overwhelmed from a long party. It proved to be just right and they all seemed to have fun running around playing. It was pouring rain outside, so we just put out some toy "stations" and let the kids go to it. I put out some dollar-store wooden masks and washable markers for the kids to decorate with, but they were mostly interested in just playing. Glad we kept things simple! Paige seemed to have great fun and had a lovely long nap afterward. I still can't believe she is two. sigh.

This is Paige's outfit and hair. She went barefoot. This is as fancy as she gets.

This is "Rocky." My parents gifted this beautiful cherry wooden duck rocker to Paige. My Dad's friend from work designed and made it! He used wood from a tree that had fallen on another friend's land. I love that. It is huge; Paige's feet barely touch and she's very tall. I love that she can grow into it as she loves it already and rocks at different times through the day...most rockers are too small for her. You can't see, but it has a gorgeous natural wooden seat that just gleams. We imagine that Rocky will be well loved and we hope one day our own grandchildren will enjoy him. (*tear*)

Here Paige is getting sung "Happy Birthday." She was enjoying a cracker at the time.

Obligatory family shot. She's wondering who these clowns are who keep bothering her while she has her delicious cupcake.

Cupcake goodness. Nom nom nom.

After her nap, Paige opened her gifts. This wooden train was gifted to her by Chris' parents. Another great heirloom toy keepsake. Paige loves it; the box car in the back has a sliding door and she can put things inside. The circus car has a gate at the back that lifts up and again, she can put her little animals inside it. The engine for the front has a little peg that is removable that is the train conductor. She loves pushing it all over the house and it rolls very easily. Check it out here. You can choose from a plethora of different train cars and even add to it for different holidays and birthdays. It's hand made by a friendly artisan...I find that super cool.

Here we are opening a present. She was saying "Woooooooow!" I have to laugh at the post-nap wild hair from having taken out the two pigtails...hee hee.

AND HERE ARE SOME LITTLE DETAILS:

I got little drawstring bags and bought iron-on inkjet transfer paper. I designed alphabet letters for each party guest's first name, ironed them on and presto! Customized favor bags. Inspired by this. (although mine aren't as cool)

Our "theme" was "Animals on Parade." Chris had given me these cupcake toppers for Christmas and I based the party around them. They were made by Meri Meri, and I found a whole line of party decor based on them. We even used their invitations. I could have made everything myself but I'm just not that ambitious these days.

We stuck a banner on the mantel.

And we stuck a banner in the middle of the kitchen over the island.

I couldn't forget to use the banner from her first birthday...it will make an appearance each year.

We also included tons and tons of balloons everywhere (pink, yellow, and a teal blue) to add to the festive feel. Hope you enjoyed our mini show from her party! I left out all the photos of the guests to protect privacy; but if you've been to one family/kid party you've been to them all. :)A big thank you to everyone who came to celebrate with Little P! We had fun with you!